Table 2. Effect of the Most Common Ergocalciferol Regimens Prescribed at Our Medical Center to Treat Vitamin D Insufficiency on Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D, Parathyroid Hormone, and Corrected Calciuma.
| Treatment |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factor | 1 (n = 48) | 2 (n = 80) | 3 (n = 27) | 4 (n = 14) |
| Age, y: No. (%) | ||||
| <55 | 10 (21) | 5 (6) | 9 (33) | 5 (36) |
| 55-64 | 15 (31) | 25 (31) | 8 (30) | 3 (21) |
| 65-75 | 11 (23) | 20 (25) | 3 (11) | 4 (29) |
| >75 | 12 (25) | 30 (38) | 7 (26) | 2 (14) |
| Male sex, No. (%) | 46 (96) | 77 (96) | 20 (74) | 12 (86) |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 (SD) | 29.4 (6.5) | 29.7 (7.8) | 27.5 (7.2) | 26.9 (4.5) |
| Creatinine, mg/dL (SD) | 2.6 (1.4) | 2.4 (1.2) | 1.1 (0.6) | 1.2 (0.6) |
| Prescribing service, No. (%) | ||||
| Nephrology | 39 (81) | 63 (79) | 1 (4) | 1 (7) |
| Internal medicine | 8 (17) | 13 (16) | 2 (7) | 2 (14) |
| Endocrinology | 1 (2) | 4 (5) | 20 (74) | 9 (64) |
| Other | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 4 (15) | 2 (14) |
| 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (ng/mL) | ||||
| Pretreatment (SD) | 11 (5) | 21 (5) | 17 (7) | 14 (5) |
| Posttreatment (SD) | 25 (12) | 30 (12) | 46 (19) | 21 (8) |
| P value (paired t test) | <.01 | <.01 | <.01 | .07 |
| Correction of vitamin D deficiency >20 ng/mL, No. (%) | 16 (55) | 43 (86) | 21 (95) | 4 (50) |
| Correction of vitamin D insufficiency ≥30 ng/mL, No. (%) | 11 (38) | 21 (42) | 18 (82) | 1 (13) |
| No. (%)b | 29 (60) | 50 (63) | 22 (81) | 8 (57) |
| Parathyroid hormone (pg/mL) | ||||
| Pretreatment (SD) | 194 (167) | 143 (71) | 103 (72) | 111 (35) |
| Posttreatment (SD) | 193 (157) | 147 (77) | 77 (36) | 101 (42) |
| P value (paired t test) | .95 | .55 | .14 | .46 |
| Normal posttreatment PTH | 4 (15) | 8 (13) | 10 (59) | 1 (17) |
| No. (%)b | 27 (56) | 60 (75) | 17 (63) | 6 (43) |
| Corrected calcium (mg/dL) | ||||
| Pretreatment (SD) | 9.4 (0.5) | 9.5 (0.4) | 9.4 (0.5) | 9.3 (0.5) |
| Posttreatment (SD) | 9.3 (0.5) | 9.4 (0.5) | 9.6 (0.8) | 9.5 (0.8) |
| P value (paired t test) | .48 | .48 | .14 | .36 |
| No. (%)b | 36 (75) | 75 (94) | 21 (78) | 9 (64) |
a
Treatment 1 = ergocalciferol 50,000 IU once weekly × 4 weeks, then once monthly × 5 months. Treatment 2 = ergocalciferol 50,000 IU once monthly × 6 months. Treatment 3 = ergocalciferol 50,000 IU 3 times weekly × 6 weeks. Treatment 4 = ergocalciferol 50,000 IU once weekly × 8 weeks or 400,000 IU within 8 weeks. Vitamin D sufficiency was defined as posttreatment 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels ≥30 ng/mL. Normal parathyroid hormone level was defined as <65 pg/mL.
b
Within each treatment group, the number of pretreatment and posttreatment values obtained for each laboratory variable.